I've noticed something with baseball game lengths, both with and without a pitch clock. Playoff games are generally longer than regular season games on average.

Like yesterday's game took almost 3 hours even though only 3 combined runs scored. Meanwhile the regular season averages like what 8-10 combined runs from both teams yet it lasts like ~2:40?

I don't know if there's any stat that compares playoff vs regular season game lengths. But does anyone feel the same where the pace of play is much slower in the playoffs?

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I am from the UK, so go easy on me. But balks seem to be really confusing. I sort of get the gist of it, but frequently there seems to be a bit of confusion when one is called . Most people don’t notice it and then an umpire does and they all argue about it.

Is it the most confusing rule or is there something else that really gets people fired up?

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I’m a Phillies fan just casually watching Dodgers/Brewers. They called Misiorowski for a balk for movement Smoltz couldn’t see. Then the Dodgers reliever lifted his leg to throw home, didn’t seem to move off the rubber, and picked off a Brewers runner. If the balk rules are supposed to prevent pitchers from feigning moves to home plate, explain how that isn’t a balk? What are the rules for?

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The Guardians were the most cost-efficient team in baseball this year – spending a mere $934,118 per win – the only team under $1 million. And they made the playoffs.

The least-efficient, once again, were the big-spending Mets, with the second highest payroll, spent $4.7 million per win. The Bluejays also threw money away

-- $3.65 million per win – and finished way behind the Rays, who had the best record in the American League for a fairly cheap $1.1 million per win.

In fact, three of the four most efficient teams – the White Sox being the other -- made the post-season. The best record in the National League was the small-market Brewers, who paid $1.4 million per win, contrasted with the high-flying Dodgers at $3.8 MPW and the Yankees at $3.2 MPW.   

Fans may not care about efficiency. As a Marlins fan told me on the team’s Reddit: “Can we just become inefficient and pay $380 million for 100 wins please?”

Indeed for teams like the Marlins, Athletics and the Pirates, efficiency can be meaningless. But for small market teams that get to the playoffs – and for big bucks teams that fail completely – measuring dollars per win can be a true endorsement or criticism of the front office.

This is my ninth year measuring cost per win. I use Spotrac for salaries, because they measure all expenses, including injured and “buried,” meaning players getting paid who are now longer with the club. The Marlins, for example, with the second-smallest payroll in baseball, used $10 million of their overall $82.8 million to pay part of Giancarlo Stanton’s salary as a New York Yankee;

Baseball is the only major American sport without a salary cap, and owners have vowed to force a cap in the upcoming negotiations with the union. A cap is likely to include a floor, meaning the cheapest teams, including the Marlins, would be forced to spend more.

Certainly, the numbers reveal consistently stupid behavior. The big-market, big-spending Angels haven’t been in the playoffs since 2014. For all the time I’ve been measuring, they have been among the least efficient teams, spending huge sums for poor results. This year, they spent $2.8 MPW – more than twice as much as the playoff Guardians, Rays, White Sox and Brewers. The Halos now have a new owner and perhaps things will improve.

What’s missing from my measures are the teams’ underlying financials. All but one team has completely opaque financials, especially how much revenue they’re taking in. Are some teams making a lot of money they’re not spending? We don’t know.

One example: Last year, nine teams paid the so-called “luxury tax” for a total of $402 million, led by the Dodgers ($169M), Mets ($91M), Yankees ($62M) and Phillies ($56M).

Supposedly, half of that money ($201M) went to the poorest teams, but what teams got what is not public knowledge. So the Marlins with their cheap payroll may be rolling in gifted cash.

The Braves, a publicly traded company, is the one team publishing audited financials. For 2025, looking purely at baseball operations, the Braves had revenue of $635 M and expenses of $497 M, for a surplus of $138 M. Still, with marketing, depreciation and various other expenses, the corporation reported a net loss of $23.2 M.

Smart spending can get a team into the playoffs, but when it comes to going all the way, big bucks still pave the way for ultimate victory. The last time a small-market team won a World Series was 2015 with the Royals. Will this year be different? Could the Rays or Brewers finally conquer? Some union leaders may hope so – so they can claim there’s no need for a salary cap.

Complete stats can be found at Marlins Maniacs. Scroll to the bottom for the team-by-team numbers. 

Four teams remain in the MLB postseason. But which has the best shot at winning it all?

The Brewers enter the championship series with MLB's best regular-season record, while the Dodgers are looking to continue their postseason dominance.

Still, The Athletic's Grant Brisbee has Milwaukee favored over the reigning champions:

"This is the Brewers’ best chance to win their first NL pennant, much less their first championship, and they know it. The only thing standing in their way is themselves. And maybe the other best team in baseball, which has done it before. No pressure."

Read more for free:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7679278/2026/10/11/mlb-potseason-team-rankings/?unlocked_article_code=1.H1E.dLyp.H94li_F2C8Da&source=emp_shared_article&smid=url-share-ta

Misiorowski comes in with a 1.80 ERA, 0.80 WHIP and 252 strikeouts in 174⅔ innings. Skubal counters with a 2.72 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and just 27 walks in 158⅔ innings.

The season numbers favor Misiorowski, but how much does the opposing lineup change your pick? Who do you trust more tonight—and what decides it: strikeouts, command or keeping the ball in the park?

That's unless both he and team agree to pick up his mutual option, not likely, as MLBTR notes in discussing what payday he's likely to get, and where he'll head.

Two years likely, though MLBTR notes 1 plus option is possible. Likely to stay east or even more, midwest/mid-south.

A bit more on those issues:

He should be in high demand, as effective starting pitchers always are. His market will be interesting to watch due to his personal preferences. As mentioned, he has flirted with retirement. He also seems to have a preference for East Coast clubs so that he can be near to his Nashville home. The last time he was on the open market, he signed with St. Louis, one of the MLB cities closest to his home. He did approve a trade to move further away, so it’s not as though he has set strict limits, but it’s hard to say how willing he is to go to the West Coast.

Based on his performance, Gray has a case for a two-year deal at a hefty salary. Even if their late 30s, pitchers can be paid well if they continue putting up numbers.

Would the Braves want him? Philly's not that far from Nashville. Reds? Baltimore?

When a batter/catcher gets hit by a foul tip, the umpire generally gives them a few seconds to walk it off. In G1 of the NLCS this year, Kyle Tucker fouled a ball off what looked like his calf with two strikes and two outs. Both Contreras and the umpire walked out and did the common wasting time I see happen usually.

The next pitch theoretically could’ve ended the game. If the batter is still feeling that hit from the ball off his leg, he may be at a disadvantage. If Contreras and Megill theoretically wanted to use that potential advantage and not take that time for a Game 1 clinching pitch, could they? Is it an actual rule that an umpire has to take his time cleaning off the plate that doesn’t need cleaning or walk out to throw the ball back to the pitcher and not start the pitch clock if/whenthe pitcher was potentially set to throw again?

It would be a bit scummy, but is it “unwritten rule” level scummy? Has this situation ever happened before?